TGS signs deal with PetroGuin to reprocess over 4,240 square miles of 3D seismic data in Guinea-Bissau
At African Energy Week 2026 in Cape Town, TGS and Guinea-Bissau’s national petroleum company PetroGuin signed a multi-client agreement to reprocess the JAAN 3D seismic dataset covering more than 4,240 square miles across Guinea-Bissau. The deal, formalized on October 15, 2026, marks the second time the two parties have collaborated on this dataset, following an earlier reprocessing effort in 2019.
TGS and PetroGuin formalize seismic reprocessing agreement
The agreement covers the multi-client reprocessing of the JAAN 3D seismic dataset — a large block of subsurface data spanning more than 4,240 square miles across Guinea-Bissau. TGS will carry out the project alongside GeoPartners, a partner that brings extra technical muscle to what’s already a substantial undertaking.
Signing in person at African Energy Week gave the deal a public profile at one of the continent’s most prominent energy gatherings. That setting wasn’t accidental — it put Guinea-Bissau’s upstream ambitions directly in front of operators, investors, and policymakers from across the globe.
Reprocessing is scheduled to kick off in Q4 2026, with final products expected in Q4 2027 — roughly a year-long window before the new data becomes available.
This is the second time TGS and PetroGuin have worked together on the JAAN dataset. Their first collaboration, a PSDM reprocessing effort completed in 2019, laid the groundwork for this follow-on project. The new agreement builds directly on that earlier work, this time with considerably more advanced tools at TGS’s disposal.
Advanced imaging technologies to be applied in reprocessing
The technical centerpiece is TGS’s application of elastic dynamic-matching full waveform inversion — E-DMFWI. This method uses the full recorded seismic wavefield to build a detailed subsurface velocity model, sharpening the final image considerably. It’s a clear step beyond what was technically feasible during the 2019 reprocessing.
Alongside E-DMFWI, TGS will apply Kirchhoff pre-stack depth migration, or KPSDM. Together, these two techniques represent a real upgrade in imaging capability compared to the existing dataset. TGS says it expects a meaningful uplift in image quality — not a marginal tweak, but a genuine step change.
David Hajovsky, Executive Vice President at TGS, put it plainly: “This reprocessing will deliver a clear step change in image quality, helping companies better evaluate both clastic and carbonate plays across the margin.”
The 2019 effort used pre-stack depth migration, which was state-of-the-art at the time. Applying E-DMFWI now shows how much seismic imaging has advanced in just a few years — and how much more can be extracted from existing data when revisited with better tools.
Improved data expected to boost exploration confidence in Guinea-Bissau
One of the main goals of the reprocessing is to give explorers a clearer picture of what lies beneath the Guinea-Bissau margin. The improved imaging is expected to support assessment of both clastic and carbonate targets — two distinct rock types that host hydrocarbons in very different ways and demand different analytical approaches.
Better subsurface imaging cuts uncertainty. In frontier exploration, where data is often sparse and drilling decisions carry enormous financial risk, that matters enormously. The reprocessed dataset is expected to give companies more confidence as they evaluate prospectivity and plan future exploration activity along the margin.
Reprocessing is scheduled to kick off in Q4 2026, with final products expected in Q4 2027 — roughly a year-long window before the new data becomes available. That’s not unusual for a project of this scale and technical complexity.
Dr. Alfredo Malu, General Director at PetroGuin, emphasized what the partnership means: “PetroGuin highly values its longstanding partnership with TGS and reaffirms its commitment to fully honoring all obligations undertaken under this collaboration, in support of the sustainable development of Guinea-Bissau’s oil and gas sector.”
Context: Guinea-Bissau’s oil and gas sector and TGS’s regional role
PetroGuin — formerly known as Empresa Nacional de Pesquisa e Exploração Petrolíferas E.P. — is Guinea-Bissau’s national petroleum exploration company, playing a central role in managing the country’s upstream resources and attracting international partners. The JAAN 3D dataset sits at the heart of that effort.
TGS, headquartered in Oslo, is a global provider of energy data and intelligence. The company holds an extensive library of subsurface data from basins around the world and operates across the full energy value chain. Its involvement in Guinea-Bissau reflects a broader strategy of building multi-client data assets in underexplored but prospective regions.
Choosing African Energy Week 2026 as the venue for the signing says something about how both parties are positioning this deal. Cape Town’s annual gathering draws senior figures from across the continent’s energy sector. Formalizing the agreement there signals that Guinea-Bissau is actively competing for exploration attention in a crowded market.
What this deal means for Guinea-Bissau’s exploration landscape
This agreement ties together several threads: a longstanding bilateral partnership between TGS and PetroGuin, the application of advanced seismic imaging to an existing large-scale dataset, and a clear timeline aimed at delivering new exploration-grade data by late 2027.
Reprocessing more than 4,240 square miles of 3D seismic data using E-DMFWI and KPSDM is a genuine technical upgrade over what currently exists. If the expected improvement in image quality materializes, it could meaningfully shift how explorers assess Guinea-Bissau’s offshore margin — and potentially influence where future drilling dollars go.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
